


The Definition of Love

by theotpeffect



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Anal Sex, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Neighbors, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:41:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3959653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theotpeffect/pseuds/theotpeffect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who? What? When? Where? Why?<br/>Rarely does a single person answer all those questions. Rarely does love reveal itself so wonderfully, so beautifully as it does for Magnus and Alec.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Definition of Love

              Alec’s first house was located in the outskirts of the city. Isabelle helped him pick it out and if he was being completely honest with himself, he wouldn’t have considered it for a second if it wasn’t for his sister. It was small, but that wasn’t the problem, it actually made it feel quite cozy inside. It was just that the house was very, well, _blue_. From the roof tiles to the porch to the window panes it was all _blue_.

                Isabelle insisted it was cute and added character. Alec wasn’t convinced and would have continued to house hunt if not for Izzy’s words of reason that came to him one night.

                “It’s inexpensive, just perfect for your teacher’s salary,” she said. “And quiet, just like you wanted.”

                And so the blue house became his. It was in an obscure little part of town and actually quite detached from the other houses in the neighborhood, except for one. That was Alec’s closest neighbor and their house was green. Very green. Just like Alec’s house it was green from top to bottom and even the bountiful lawn ornaments were the same color. The two houses looked like something straight from a kid’s movie.

                So when Alec’s moving van made it to the house he couldn’t help glancing at his neighbor and wondering who the flamboyant character behind its walls was. He didn’t have to wonder for long because as soon as he and his brother, Jace, finished wrestling the bed frame inside, his neighbor came bounding out of his house with drinks in hand.

                When Alec first laid eyes on him he wasn’t at all surprised at his clothing. He wore _very_ tight jeans and an equally tight, pink shirt. Even from the distance Alec was at, he could see the glitter glinting off of his clothing, hair, and skin. He looked like he had diamonds glinting off of him.

                “I thought you all could use some refreshments!” he called cheerfully. Jace waved for Alec who was quite stuck and most certainly _not_ looking at the way his neighbors jeans hugged his thighs and hips just _perfectly._

                Izzy gave him a not-so-subtle wink and put on her brilliant smile to greet Alec’s new neighbor. She flounced over and helped him carry the refreshments. Of course, she passed Jace a cup and kept the other one to herself, leaving the neighbor to hand over one of his to Alec.

                He smiled at him, all glamor and sparkles and Alec was done for as soon as he realized he had to tilt his head up to meet his neighbor’s eyes. They were the same green as his house.

                “I’m Magnus,” he introduced himself. He said it loud enough for everyone to hear but kept his gaze locked on Alec. Not unkindly, he added. “Who would you be?”

                Jace took over as soon as it was apparent Alec had lost his voice. “I’m Jace. This is our sister, Izzy and that’s Alec, the one who’s moving in.”

               Magnus had moved in that time to keep track of everyone’s names and faces, but soon returned to looking at Alec.

                “Well, welcome neighbor,” Magnus said with a sweet smile.

                “Y-yeah,” Alec said, finally finding it in himself to speak. “I think I’ll like it here.”

                “Hey, Jace, we should move the mattress inside,” Izzy said, obnoxiously loud, and shoved Jace into the house without bothering to get the mattress. Alec chuckled in embarrassment at their obvious attempt to get him and Magnus alone. Magnus seemed more amused than anything.

                “Um,” Alec started awkwardly and gestured to his drink. “Thanks for bringing these out.”

                Magnus smiled and Alec lost his breath. “No problem. I know moving sucks, so I thought the least I could do would be to bring some lemonade and make it a little less painful.”

                Alec, in a moment of fearlessness, said, “All you had to do was show up and that would have been enough.”

                Magnus blinked in surprise before letting his smile slip into a smirk. “I think it’ll be nice having you here.”

                Alec hid his face behind his cup and took a sip of the lemonade. It was sweet and wonderfully cold from the ice already melting inside.

                After their drinks were sipped away and their small talk turned playful, Alec returned to his unpacking with a small smile and a hope that they would talk much more in the future. Magnus helped haul boxes inside and Jace and Izzy oh-so-helpfully left them alone throughout Magnus’ stay.

***

               

                It wasn’t until a week later, when Alec was holed up in his blue house paying bills, that he saw Magnus again.

                He came knocking on his door late in the afternoon. Alec was surprised to see him on the other side. He had begun to think that their subtle flirting on his first day over was just for some fun and not due to genuine interest. But with Magnus on his doorstep, smiling beautifully and holding a single red  rose, a spike of hope shot through his chest. 

                “I don’t know about you,” Magnus began as a greeting. “But I _really_ like talking to you. And I think waiting a week to see you again was quite possibly one of the more stupid things I’ve done. Especially when I look over at your house and am reminded of the blue of your eyes do I realize just how stupid it was to wait this long to ask you out on a date.”

                Magnus offered the flower and Alec took it tentatively. He rolled the stem between his fingers anxiously as he looked at Magnus. 

                “I would love to,” Alec said quietly. “Go on a date, I mean.”

                “Yeah?” Magnus asked excitedly. He seemed to vibrate there with his eagerness. It made Alec finally smile and let himself admit that this was most definitely _happening_.

                “Do you, uh, do you want to go now?” Alec asked. He had returned to twirling the rose in his fingers and resisted the urge to hide behind it. He was twenty-five years old dammit; he would not blush behind a flower.

                Magnus grinned. “If you’re not doing anything?”

                Alec nodded and stepped aside to let him in. The spontaneity of their date was making him giddy. It had been so long since he had done something out of the blue, most of the time it was due to Jace coaxing him into stupid, possibly illegal things when they were in high school. It was nice to think he would be going on a date with an attractive man _that night._ There was something exciting about skipping the anticipatory days before their date, something about breaking the norm with the man whose eyes matched the color of his house.

                “Let me change real quick,” Alec said and retreated into his room. It took a few minutes of frantic searching before he found a presentable pair of jeans and a nice shirt without any holes on its collar or sleeves. He changed at light speed and stepped back into the living room. His house only had one floor and it was quite compact so all he had to do was open the bedroom door and see Magnus studying the pictures of him and his family intently.

                “That’s my mom and dad,” Alec said softly. It was a picture of his parents squishing him between them, small smiles on their faces. “We took this after my parents apologized for reacting so badly to my being gay.”

                “It’s good that you were able to make up with your parents,” Magnus murmured. Something of his demeanor seemed somber to Alec and he only wondered how _his_ parents had reacted to his sexuality.

                Magnus turned around, flamboyant and happy again. “Shall we go?”

                Alec smiled and led Magnus out.

***

 

                Their date began at an Italian-slash-Ethiopian place. The date most certainly did not begin as well as Alec thought it would. His clumsiness seemed to increase tenfold, which was a large problem considering he tripped up the stairs daily (when he was living in an apartment complex on the third floor) and dropped everything that didn’t have a handle.

                Alec spilled a drink over himself and had to go to the bathroom to clean up, only to return in defeat with a still lingering wet spot on his thigh and parts of his shirt. He was an utter mess. And Magnus didn’t seem to mind much at all.

                “I’m really sorry,” Alec murmured. He was embarrassed beyond anything he had felt in a long time. It was baffling to him that Magnus hadn’t left yet. Not when he was ruining their date so superbly.

                Of course, that was before the man Alec learned to be _Richard_ waltzed through the door and doused Magnus with his drink. Then Alec didn’t feel as if he was the only one ruining their date

                “We were together _once_ ,” Magnus explained. “I don’t think the man knows what a fling is.”

                With a composed air Alec could only hope to achieve one day, it was Magnus’ turn to go to the bathroom and clean up a drink off of himself.

                This left Alec perfect time to contemplate the survival of this date. He liked Magnus, a lot. And he didn’t want to end the date, not even with the abnormal number of drinks being poured over them. Magnus made him feel good. He raised him higher and made his chest constrict in a way as old as the days of the first crush he got on the boy in his first hour English class. That was when his sexuality was new and exciting and the prospect of kissing a boy was something to be feared and anticipated. Magnus made him feel younger again. The idea of kissing Magnus made him dizzy with the thought of the shy high school boy who slumped in on himself and chewed holes through the collars and sleeves of his shirts actually being able to meet someone like Magnus. Confident, glamorous Magnus.

                He most definitely could not screw their date up. He would never be able to look out the doors on the right side of his house without being reminded of Magnus and his gorgeous eyes.

                When Magnus returned, they left the restaurant. But not to end their date. Instead, Magnus invited him over to his place for a drink. Alec agreed, maybe a little too quickly, and they went back.

                On their arrival they didn’t get any drinks. Instead they took off their shoes and jackets, looked at each other and began to kiss. It wasn’t either of their plans to go after one another quite so feverishly but it happened. And it was wonderful.

                Alec had been with men before, kissed them, had sex with them but nothing quite compared to the way Magnus kissed him. His fingers were exploratory and when they found Alec’s belt loops they tugged on him until he was flush against Magnus.

                And he was gone.

                The world was lost to Alec and there was only Magnus; the taste of him, the slide of his lips against Alec’s, the feeling of his exploratory tongue and the smoothness of his skin under the pads of Alec’s fingers. Alec felt nothing and everything at the same time and it made his head become light. He might have even started floating away if it weren’t for their boneless fall onto Magnus’ couch. He didn’t even realize they had traveled that far from the door.

                They lost time wrapped up in each other’s arms. The whole world was shut out and confined to their bodies floating in some other realm where the smack of their lips and the heady gasps and whines that escaped their mouths was the only sounds that were able to travel in such a place. It was where their hands could only map out the smoothness of their skin and their lips were not to separate unless they decided to pepper kisses down each other’s necks or jawlines.

                It was a wonderful place and they were sad to leave it once their jaws began to hurt and their bruised lips began to throb. They still swooped in for soft pecks and feather-light brushes of something more until they bothered to lift their heads enough to check the time on the clock hung on the wall. It had been nearly an hour and a half since they arrived at Magnus’ home.

                Alec buried his face in the crook of Magnus’ neck and chuckled.

                Magnus carded his fingers through Alec’s hair and murmured, “Is it time to go?”

                Alec hummed. “Probably. But I don’t particularly want to go.”

                “We can always just walk a few yards and knock on each other’s doors,” Magnus suggested. “It’s kind of hard to miss our houses, you know, with the paint jobs and all.”

                Alec kissed him one more time and pulled away before they got dragged away from earth again. “I’ll take you up on that.”

                He left with his coat and shoes back in place and Magnus’ number in his pocket.

***

 

               Over the course of the next month, Alec and Magnus spoke with each other as much as they could over the phone. Work hours were spent with sneaky text messages filled with obnoxious emoji’s. They had three more official dates with each other. Alec wasn’t sure if he should count the days where they decided to drop by each other’s colored houses on a whim. Usually those visits dissolved into lengthy make-out sessions. And usually they only ever stopped because their jaws were too sore to continue.

                Their second official date was to another restaurant, Taki’s. It was Alec’s favorite place to go and he and his siblings would often visit. He was pleased that Magnus liked it so much. They spent much longer out on the town that day. They finished their dinner that time around and opted for a slow walk around a park nearby. Their hands were never separated for too long.

                Their third official date was to the movies. They saw the latest action movie and enjoyed it immensely. Afterwards, they shared a hearty discussion over which superhero had the best ass and which explosions were the largest.

                Their fourth official date was a picnic in the park outside of Taki’s. They still ate from there, ordering their food to go but the change of scenery and the feeling of lying on the plush grass with only a thin blanket somehow made the food taste better. It was nice to sit under a tree, its branches framing the sunset ahead of them. It was beautiful and it quickly became his favorite date with Magnus.

                All the while they learned more and more about each other, petty things and sometimes more. Alec tended to share the most about his family, as if he forgot that the person Magnus was dating was _him_ not his family. Although, Alec was so invested in his family, so protective and attached to all of them that there really was no distinction between himself and his family sometimes. They came as a package deal and Magnus seemed to understand that.

                Alec learned about that Magnus worked at a bar and that was why he returned late at night sometimes and left late in the afternoon. Alec promised to stop by and order a drink sometime.

                Magnus was also someone who had a habit of diverting attention away from him with jokes or outbursts, especially when Alec inquired about his family. But that all broke down on their fourth official date and Magnus poured his heart out about the abuse he put up with from his mother and step father when they found out he was bisexual. His voice grew tight when he recounted the father he never met leaving his mother without a word and breaking her for a long time before she met Magnus’ step father.

                Alec held him then as he buried his face in Alec’s shoulder and became lost in memories he had hoped to keep long forgotten. They parted ways, feeling they were getting more and more intimate as the days went by.

                The next month, a week after their fourth official date, they went on their fifth official date. Magnus invited Alec over and cooked pasta. They didn’t speak much during that date. They looked at each other with sappy expressions they used to make fun of other couples for making more than they whispered short sentences to each other. They were completely lost in how _enamored_ they were with each other, over the candle lit intimacy of Magnus’ dining room.

                “What are you, Alexander Lightwood?” Magnus asked. The question caught Alec off guard but he only laughed quietly and raised his eyebrow. “I find myself wondering how such a perfect boy could ever exist, yet here you are. You’re otherworldly, part angel maybe. You’re perfect.”

                The date ended in tangled limbs, ringing ears and sweaty skin. It ended with their naked bodies pressed together under the silk sheets in Magnus’ bed and lazy kisses until they finally fell asleep.

***

 

                From there it was slowly learning more and more about each other. Small things, habits. Like, Magnus liked to pull Alec in by the belt loops and press their bodies together. He had a wonderful way of laughing that caused him to throw his head back and lose all sense of volume control. He had an intimate way of letting his fingers dance across Alec’s skin and a wonderful way of marking that skin, showing everyone in the world Alec was _his._

                In this time Magnus also met Alec’s family. Jace and Izzy were friendly right away, as they had seen and interacted with Magnus before: when Alec was moving in, when they came to whisk him off to a party he really did not want to go to and Magnus would kiss him on the cheek, telling him that he would be okay. 

                The dinner Magnus met his parents though, was nerve wracking for Alec. Magnus was less nervous than he was. Alec just really wanted the most important people in his life to approve of each other. It made him anxious but that turned out to be something he didn’t have to worry of.

                His mother and father were extremely supportive. It seemed they really _had_ gotten over their slight panic attack over having a gay son. He supposed he understood why they reacted the way they did. He was the eldest, the one who was supposed to give them biological grandchildren with a beautiful wife and live in some cute house in the suburbs. But that was not Alec and they seemed to have accepted that.

                Magnus was the first boy he brought home. Izzy made sure to remind him of that every time he and Magnus so much as seemed to sneak off to an obscure corner of the house for a kiss or whispered words of support in each other’s ears. She claimed he had to get all the sneaking around with a boy in the house he could as he missed it in his teenage years. He rolled his eyes at her and told her to go find that geeky Simon boy she seemed so keen on. That usually got her to leave.

                At the end of their stay he and Magnus went home for a nice night filled with musicals and sex.

***

 

                By the time three months rolled around they finally said it.

                They were lounging in Alec’s living room. It was a lazy day and the both of them had on nothing more than sweat pants. Although Magnus’ were bedazzled and had “pink” printed across the ass in big, sparkly, purple letters.

                They were sprawled across the couch, completely tangled in each other, doing nothing but observing the other, letting their eyes skate over skin they had memorized long ago.

                “I love you,” Alec said as if it were a sudden realization. But he had known for a long time that he was in love with Magnus. It wasn’t a sudden realization as much as it was a moment that had built itself up for a long time, like a supernova it was just waiting to burst.

                “I love you, too,” Magnus replied. It was so purely simple but a moment they knew they would keep locked as one of their most cherished memories until they were both old and senile.

                Alec buzzed from it, the words he finally spoke to Magnus, the first time he had said those words in a romantic sense, in a way that he would be willing to shout to the world and say _“I am_ in love _with this man!”_

                In a moment of bafflement that such an amazing thing could happen to him, Alec wondered aloud. “When did you fall in love with someone like me?”

                Magnus brushed Alec’s hair away from his face gently so he could see the blue eyes he loved so much. The blue eyes that had made him come to associate that blue with Alec and his home, always.

                “I don’t know,” he confessed. “Maybe it was the first time you kissed me and threw your whole being into it. Maybe it was when you held me as I told you of my parents. Maybe it was when I realized your eyes matched the house you were moving into. It might not have been a single moment. _When_ , might have been every moment I ever spent with you, Alexander.”

***

 

                “We need to do something!” Magnus announced one day. They were going on eight months. They had grown to know each other so well they could have private conversations without making a sound. It infuriated Izzy and Jace, although they were both seeing people they shared those infuriating gazes with too. Alec never understood why they gave Magnus and him so much crap.

                Alec yawned and dropped his pen. He was tired of grading papers. “Do you want to go to Taki’s or something?”

                “No I mean something we might have done as freshmen or sophomores in college,” Magnus explained.

                “Cry over homework? I’m about to do that right now.”

                “ _No,”_ Magnus rolled his eyes. “Really, Alexander, you’re a pain in the ass when you’re being sarcastic.”

                “I thought you said I was sexy,” he pretended to pout. That got a chuckle out of Magnus.

                “That too, I suppose.”

                Magnus scraped Alec’s chair over the tiles until he was far enough away from the table for Magnus to comfortably straddle Alec’s lap. He rested his arms on Alec’s shoulders and grinned at him.

                “Let’s go on a trip,” he said. “There’s a three day weekend coming up for you isn’t there? It’s settled, we’re going. Where do you want to go?”

                Alec smiled and remembered the spontaneity of their first date and felt a similar rush swirl through his veins.

                “Anywhere,” he replied and kissed the tip of Magnus’ nose. “Where would _you_ like to go?”

                Magnus kissed him softly, warmly. “Where you are is alright with me. Wherever that is, I’m sure I’d love it.”

                Alec nipped playfully at his bottom lip. “Then we can pick a direction and just drive.”

                “Road trip, road trip, road trip!” Magnus chanted. Alec stood suddenly, causing Magnus to yelp in surprise, and began carrying him to the bedroom. “I thought you had papers to grade.”

                “There are more pressing matters that need my attention,” he said with a rough voice.

                Magnus kissed him hungrily until he was thrown on the bed. He mentally added “lots of sex” to the list of things he wanted to do with Alec on their trip.

***

 

               

                They got ready for their trip fairly quickly. Magnus’ boss gave him little hassle for the vacation days, even though it was very last minute. Alec worked like a mad man to get as many school assignments graded as he could. And then on Thursday they packed. Friday was the day they left, right after Alec returned home from school. Magnus elected to drive because he knew Alec would be most likely tired from his day dealing with grade schoolers.

                Magnus decided to start their trip by turning left out of Alec’s driveway. Soon their green and blue houses were specks in the horizon.

                 Magnus was silent at first, assuming Alec would like to hunker down for a nap. But instead he caught him looking at him.

                “What?” Magnus asked with a growing smile.

                “Why?” Alec asked.

                “Why what?” Magnus asked. “There are many things that you could ask why for. Why am I in love with you? I could go on and on about that one all day, all _week_. Maybe even all year.”

                Alec stared at him with a bemused smile. “Why are you so amazing?”

                Magnus pretended to toss his hair over his shoulder. “It just takes practice to get this wonderful, sweet cheeks.”

                Alec gazed at him a little while longer before saying softly. “I love you.”

                Magnus’ expression softened and he chanced a glance away from the road and towards Alec. “I should really take you on trips more often.” Alec gave him a dopey smile which he returned instantly. “I love you, too.” 

                Alec settled back in his chair and watched the scenery whip by them for a little while. It felt like they were in their own little space ship, waiting to explore the universe. Really, they were probably going to rent motel rooms for the night and annoy their neighbors with their loud antics. For the moment everything seemed perfect. They were the two men, in love and untouchable as they rocketed along the highway.

                “Have you ever gone on a road trip like this before?” Alec asked. He never recalled Magnus bringing up any astounding adventures before. Little trips like this, goofing off with friends and counting the trees that flew past their windows was not something they had shared with each other, he thought. Other than a comment in passing that Magnus’ best friend was dragged with him to all sorts of places, he knew nothing about that side of Magnus’ life, or even if that _was_ a side. He felt guilty for a moment that he had never inquired about some great adventure Magnus might have partook in when he was younger. When he was sure to have been even louder, and even more spontaneous than he was as Alec knew him.

                “Ragnor and I went on a lot of trips, I told you that, yes?” Alec nodded. “We did go on some road trips, like this one, sometimes with Catarina, sometimes not. But that wasn’t the big adventure. We went to Peru once and it was wonderful there, Alec, maybe I can take you there someday. _That_ was the big adventure, at least for me. The trip was less than conventional. We were supposed to stay for two months but stayed for two years instead.”

                “Wow,” Alec breathed. “What made you decided that?”

                Magnus gave him an apologetic smile, as if he could change the past. “I met a boy.”

                “Oh,” Alec said and left it at that. He knew Magnus had exes, as gorgeous as he was and at twenty-eight it would have been surprising if he had no one before Alec. And Magnus had mentioned them on occasion. They were people who were important to him, people who were a part of his life at some point. Camille, Etta, Will, Kitty and- Imasu? Ah, a foreign name. That must have been who he met.

                Alec wasn’t perturbed by the new information, if anything he saw it coming, so the silence that ensued was more thoughtful than strained. Alec, who had never been in love before Magnus, was able to understand enough that the people Magnus met before him were important. He assumed he would never truly understand completely but it was better that he knew they meant something and it was good he was not too bugged by it. He worked hard on raising his self-esteem when he got out of high school but he was still prone to getting hot flashes of doubt. Magnus always helped him through it.

                They passed a sign and Alec nearly missed it: Lake Lyn- 2 miles.

                “Magnus, do you want to go to that lake?” he asked.

                Magnus smiled at him. “Glad I packed bathing suits.”

                In no time, they were tumbling out of their car and shaking the stiffness from their legs as they stood over the lake. It was weirdly clear and the children running along its shoreline shrieked in delight when the cold water touched their toes. Families were sprawled across the beach, their little picnics all set up and their backs exposed to the sun for a nice tanning.

                Magnus opened the trunk and rifled through their things, looking for the bathing suites he packed. He took up the burden of packing for the both of them because he didn’t want Alec “to only pack those horrendous sweaters.” Alec had rolled his eyes fondly and kissed him before letting Magnus get immersed in his important work of finding a decent outfit for Alec for everyday of the weekend.

                He retreated from the trunk with a victorious cry, holding two pairs of swim trunks. Alec diverted his eyes so it wasn’t quite as obvious that he was blatantly checking Magnus out as he was bent over the car.

                He tossed one to Alec. “The bathrooms are over there. Hurry and you can check my ass out again later.”

                “Wh- how did you-” Alec sputtered.

                “Alexander, why do you think I bent over so much in the first place? It certainly wasn’t so I could find the swimming suits quicker.”

                Alec felt his face heat up but he smirked despite it. He slapped Magnus’ ass as he passed with his swim trunks and chased him into the bathroom.

                They elected to change in different stalls as they had a strong feeling they would probably fool around if they went in the same one. So when they emerged they spent a good while looking each other up and down, absorbing the others muscles and skin and, oh, a _bite_ _mark_ on Magnus’ collarbone from the other night.

                Magnus held his hand out, automatically spreading his fingers so Alec’s could fit in just perfectly between them. It was natural as breathing to feel Alec’s hand in his.

                They strolled lazily to the water and let it lap over their feet. Pebbles dug into the pads of their feet and sand wedged its way between their toes. The breeze brushed past their faces pleasantly. Alec had never felt more at peace.

                They walked around the beach, hand in hand and stopped when they reached an obscure part of the shore line, hidden by the branches of low-hanging trees. Magnus seated himself and tugged Alec down gently.

                It was nice watching the small waves ripple through the surface of the lake. It was nice being so close to Magnus and sharing his warmth, connected by their interlaced fingers. It was nice feeling like he was making yet another special memory with the man he loved.

                It was _not_ nice stumbling over an intruding thought. What if it wasn’t as special to him as it was to Alec? How many boys, how many girls had he sat and watched clear lakes with? Why was Alec feeling so insecure when he knew Magnus loved him so much?

                Alec shuffled closer to Magnus and dropped his head on his shoulder heavily.

                “What’s wrong?” Magnus asked, carding his fingers through Alec’s hair soothingly.

                “Nothing, it’s dumb,” Alec responded automatically. And he knew Magnus saw right through him. That was always how he responded when he felt insecure about something.

                Magnus kissed his forehead. “What are you thinking?”

                Alec wasn’t quite sure how to phrase his feeling of not being too special to Magnus so settled for, “How many people were you in love with before me?”

                Magnus hummed, he probably caught on to Alec’s train of thought already. “Five.”

                “Wh-who were they?” he asked and picked at his swimming suit. “Sorry, that might be a stupid question-”

                “It’s not,” Magnus cut him off before he returned to his fragile state when he was eighteen and just emerging into the world. “And we’ll call them Who, What, When, Where and Why.”

                Alec understood why Magnus wasn’t going to tell him their names. They were important to him, yes, but they were distant memories and only remembered through the ways they changed Magnus and made him realize things about himself that being in love makes a little more obvious. They were people, now defined by the way they influenced Magnus’ life because most of them weren’t around anymore. They were memories. They were in the past.

                Magnus shifted a little, getting himself more comfortable. Before he began to tell Alec about his past loves.

                “Who, was a beautiful woman whom I met in college. She was charming and wore the most dazzling clothes. She was everything every guy on campus wanted. To me, she was a dream. We dated, mostly fooled around but she wasn’t in love with me. So in the throes of youthful romance and naivety I bought her a necklace and clothing in the hopes she would one day love me back. She never did. But she was beautiful and I had already fallen for her so I filled in the blanks. She didn’t have an interest in letting me know who she actually was so in my head she became the gorgeous girl who could, maybe, fall in love with me. She was sweet and charming in my head. She was a fairy tale.

                “What, was a man who had blue eyes and black hair like you but acted more like Jace, really. We’ve kept in touch through the years, I’ve told you about him before. To this day, I don’t think what I felt for him was romantic love. I do still love him but I wouldn’t date him, I wouldn’t kiss him or hold him in my arms like I do you. He’s a good friend and is madly in love with a girl who couldn’t be more perfect for him. I’m good friends with her as well. I think- I think I was in love with the idea of watching someone grow and helping them with their struggles because he really did struggle with loving that girl. I don’t think I was ever in love with _him_ , I was in love with his strength, his endurance when he thought he couldn’t love who he wanted. I identified with that.

                “When, was my high school girlfriend. We were young and stupid and hormonal messes. The relationship lasted quite a while, at least to high school standards it did. A summer plus one month. It was the embodiment of young love. We were energetic, _bold_ and dared those who challenged our love for just being because of our youth. Young love is weird because you don’t quite remember the _person_ but what you did with them. We took each other’s virginity and tried to figure out the art of kissing. Hmph, it was far from the age of innocence for us. We were horrible influences on each other. We did petty crimes, stealing some cheap headphones or candy. But when we weren’t doing that we were laughing or singing obnoxiously to songs we barely knew. We were kids, we were reckless, we were in love. Even if it was for a single summer.

                “Where, was a foreign man. He was a gorgeous musician with dark hair and eyes. I didn’t intend to fall in love with him. We were supposed to have fun together for the two months I was staying in his country. I tried to learn to play an instrument for him. I was god awful, and I think the town I was staying in threw a festival because I gave up the instrument. But I grew there. I learned I was no good with music. I learned that I had the capacity to fall in love with someone as sophisticated and grounded as him. He took such good care of his mother and sister. I was not meant to stay there. Peru is one of my favorite places. He broke my heart but I learned a lot there, I grew, I realized love wasn’t always going to allow the heart to look fondly back on those moments.

                “Why, was the last person, before you. I could not love another before you showed up in my life and that blue house. She passed away. She was reserved, level-headed and when she was sick I often asked her if she would want immortality. She said she wanted more time with me, but ‘not enough to stop the clock for it.’ She was the one who stayed with me the longest out of everyone I had dated. Although, she left me before she died but we still spoke to each other, I still visited her in the hospital and held her fragile hand. And she reminded me of mortality and its fragility. She reminded me that having someone was a temporary thing and that I should hold onto that. She was the reason I realized why I loved.”

                Magnus tapered off his story. He gazed off into the lake for a moment, still wrapped up in memories and lost loves. Then he returned to Alec and gazed at him with an intensity that took his breath away.

                Somewhere along the story Alec had shed his insecurity and had it replaced with a curiosity to know more about Magnus, to get a glimpse of the deepest parts of his heart. Magnus intended for that to happen. He wanted to bear his chest open, just for Alec.

                Alec realized he had never loved someone, had never come close to loving someone as much as he loved Magnus Bane.

                “You’re the sixth,” Magnus continued. “You are none of them because you are _everything._ Alexander,        you are who, what, when, where, _why_ I love all at the same time and just looking at your eyes takes my breath away and thinking of you when you aren’t there causes my heart to do somersaults. Alexander, after you there will not be another. You are the last.”

                Alec laughed. He covered his face and fought back the sappy, stinging, happy tears that threatened to fill his eyes and spill over. Magnus made him so happy. Magnus was also his sixth. His who, his what, his when, his where, his _why_. They were everything to each other.

                They were the definition of love.

***

 

                Their trip to the lake lasted a long time. They kissed and caressed each other and stared off into nothing or into each other until the sun began to set. Then they completed their lap around the other half of the lake. They shuffled slowly, as they found a new place of meaning. Another where.

                By the time they made it back to their car the sun had set and the sky was a dark blue, just on the cusp of night.

                They picked the closest motel that looked like it wouldn’t be infested with cockroaches and settled there for the night.

                Once they got in their room, they stared at each other for a long time, tracing patterns over their bodies with their eyes. Then they undressed each other.

                It was slow and methodical. Every patch of skin exposed was something else to caress and kiss. It took a long time for either of them to become fully naked. But they were in no rush. They had all the time in the world. They were immortal in this moment.

                Alec was on his back and Magnus was on top of him, settled between his thighs. He was thrusting his hips slowly, creating a sweet friction against their cocks. They kissed deeply. They were exploratory like the first time they had sex. Each dip of muscle, each slide of skin against skin seemed to be being rememorized.

                Finally Alec whined and insistently moved his hips against Magnus’. The action was met with a chuckle and Magnus reached over the bed to their bags where he packed the lube and condoms. He came back and crawled over Alec. He kissed him sweetly and slicked three of his fingers with the lube, gaze locked on Alec as he moved one finger down, down, down.

                He gently probed against Alec’s entrance, asking silent permission. Alec nodded and let his head fall back against the pillow as Magnus’ familiar finger made its way inside of him. It was always the first burn, the first stretch of Magnus’ fingers and dick that he liked the best. It was when he gave up control to Magnus and, in his own way, entrusted him with taking care of him.

                Alec minutely moved his hips with the rhythm of Magnus’ slow thrusts and waited patiently for a second finger to be added and a third. Slow love making was his favorite type of sex with Magnus. It made the air heavy with intimacy and Magnus was so gentle with him there was no way he couldn’t like the treatment he was given. It created the color cyan as the two colors they associated with each other, green and blue, mixed together.

                “Magnus,” Alec whispered. “I want you inside me.”

                Magnus groaned quietly at the statement and removed his fingers. It was weird, the anticipatory lurch in Alec’s stomach and the simultaneous disappointment Alec felt when Magnus did as he said. He wanted to be connected with Magnus through the entire thing but the minute he took his hands away to roll on a condom and slick himself with a lube was a minute that promised even more pleasure, more closeness.

                Finally, when Magnus pushed the head of his _hot_ member inside of him he let out an exhale, laced with a whimper, and arched his back slightly. The new intrusion burned wonderfully through his body.

                He wrapped his long legs around Magnus’ waist and pulled him closer for a slow kiss.

                “Move, Magnus,” he pleaded when his body acclimated to Magnus being inside of him. Magnus nibbled at his jawline for a moment before obeying and thrusting steadily into Alec.

                He knew just where his sweet spot was and once his angled hips hit Alec’s prostate _just right_ , Alec let his jaw drop open and his body go momentarily limp. Magnus exhaled into his hair, his hot breath sent a shiver down Alec’s spine.

                Magnus moved slowly. Every thrust he made was met with a small cry from Alec and the walls of his hole constricting around Magnus’ cock.

                Magnus’ breath became more labored. He panted and still tried to kiss Alec breathless. He succeeded spectacularly.

                The rhythm of their bodies came naturally to them. They groaned together and their frantic heartbeats synchronized under their heaving chests. Their sweat and saliva mixed together and the smell of sex filled the room quickly. Although Magnus was going slowly, that did not mean he was not thrusting hard into Alec’s sweet spot. Each thrust was met with a slight clatter of the headboard against the wall and a variation of a moan or a whimper from Alec and a groan from Magnus.

                When Magnus found it in himself to breathe again, lost in Alec’s body as he was, he whispered sweet nothings into Alec’s ear. He whispered love and protection and eternity. Alec clung onto the words as he clung onto Magnus and nodded frantically along to whatever Magnus was saying, sometimes adding a breathy “yes.”

                Alec felt a tightening in his stomach and muscles. He became stiff and words were barely able to escape his mouth. Each pounding thrust into his prostate brought him closer and he was about to lose it.

                “Ma-agnus. I’m cumming, I’m cumming.”

                Magnus sped up just a little bit, just enough to send him over the edge. And then Alec was tensing. His thighs and arms locked around Magnus as he came, wet and sticky all over his stomach. Nothing escaped his mouth other than a strangled moan that sounded like Magnus’ name.

                Magnus still thrust and rocked into him until he buried himself deeply in Alec and shuddered out a moan. Alec felt him come inside of him, even through the condom.

                And all was still and ringing.

                They wound down by lacing their fingers together and sharing their panting breaths. Their kiss as Magnus pulled out was sloppy and perfect. He took off the condom and tied it off before throwing it in the general direction of the trash can and collapsing next to Alec.

                They drew each other into their arms, their sticky foreheads pressed together. Magnus reached over and found tissues on the nightstand and began cleaning up Alec as best he could.

                They kissed each other again.

                Alec thought to himself, _this is most definitely love._  

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration for this fic was [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvxHPtEsmFc), starring our lovely Harry Shrum Jr, and the cute little houses that I passed on a small family road trip that looked exactly as I described them in this fic.


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